23 August 2010

After the inquiry – cornering the muruk

BY COUNTRYSIDE*

THE MURUK, or
cassowary, is a powerful creature. It can reach two metres in height and travel long distances. Although unable to fly because of its body weight, this
animal has nevertheless adapted well.

With powerful claws and muscular hindquarters, it defends
aggressively and effectively overpowers its prey. Even in the presence of a
hunting party, it can easily overcome arrows and buckshot. It is indeed a
powerful animal.

Meticulous planning and surveillance must be carried out
before hunting the cassowary.

The conventional way many PNG tribes hunt them is by
chasing a herd into dense scrub and then to burn the forest. The cassowary is
left with little option but to hide. But the hunt is virtually over, as the big
bird is fully exposed. However, it is still alive, and extreme caution must be
taken, and from afar, before the final blow is struck.

The PNG Finance Commission of Inquiry Report is burning
through the cyber-forest and has driven the crooked muruks to hide in the dense
scrub. The rumours of siphoned resources as a result of institutional
corruption at the Finance Department have been confirmed.

From inflammatory deed settlements to ridiculous retainer
contracts, the report makes it clear that a bunch of folks stole a whole heap
of money.

But, as we sharpen our spears and stalk these crooked
muruks, we have to respect their ability to strike first and therefore we must
plan with care. The gag orders will be coming and the defamation suits will be
prepared as ways of found to try to kill the hounds.

But the great news for PNG is that the muruks are are so
busted. You see, the investigation team has the paper trail. That’s right,
sufficient evidence to throw the muruks into jail.

Evidence cited in the Inquiry Report indicated fraud,
false pretences and misappropriation. As such, the Police Commissioner, Chief
Ombudsman and Public Prosecutor have the basis to move into enforcement and
indictment mode.

Usually, the muruk would apply a gag order. But here there
are two main limitations: time and specificity. The latter is of particular
interest. If the muruks want to stop publication, they may do so.

But the evidence derived from the report cannot be
stopped. It is out there. It is now essential that the Police Commissioner
commences a clandestine operation to commence an investigation and attain
evidence.

The following needs to take place. The Police Commissioner
needs to instruct the Fraud Squad to consider all evidence from the Inquiry and
to commence building indictments of the
people implicated.

The beauty is that the Fraud Squad hardly has to do
anything, as the evidence is already catalogued and clearly cited in the
report.

The investigative officers than need to liaise with the Ombudsman
Commission and the Public Prosecutor to identify the appropriate charge. Once
this is determined, the Public Prosecutor can issue a Nolle prosequi to
issue indictments. With the evidence in hand, the objective is for the police
to immediately issue charges.

The leaders should first be subjected to a Leadership
Tribunal. The tribunal will remove them as leaders which, in theory, will deny
them the ability to hold any leadership position.

In a similar approach, all lawyers cited in the report
should be referred to the Lawyers Statutory Committee. This committee of the
PNG Law Society is responsible for penalising lawyers for misconduct. After
this process has been exhausted, the Public Prosecutor should issue a Nolle
as well.

There are several crucial factors. First, the Fraud Squad
needs to do this in a clandestine manner. No public announcements, no
statements that will attract challenges. You see, unlike previous inquiries,
the evidence is not prima facie but substantive.

Expert witnesses in the fields of forensic accounting,
cyber crime experts and conventional investigators have done an exceptional job
in compiling and cataloguing the evidence.

The second factor is that the Public Prosecutor needs to
ensure the evidence is tight. From the looks of things it is. So when the Nolle
is issued, charges occur simultaneously. The rest is mere procedure.

However for many muruks, their lawyers will probably tell
them to enter verdict of guilty as this will give them some wriggle room for a
plea bargain which may mean a lesser conviction and more lenient sentencing.
The public should monitor this exercise as the crooks may cut deals to expose
other deals.

As we move into the kill zone to catch the muruk, spare a
thought for the great men and women who are fighting the fight.

Many have endured assassination attempts, rape, marital
problems and whispered damage. In spite of these travesties, they plan to
complete the inquiry.

May their passion to do right endure for generations to
come. And may God give us leaders who will never emulate these crooked muruks.

* ‘Countryside’ is
the nom de plume of a senior Papua New Guinea public servant

Comments

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Good comments Paul and I agree with some of your approach.

It's up to senior public servants and other like-minded people like Countryside to get up and do something about this cancer.

Countryside should get other senior public servants to do something about prosecuting the Muruks by relentlessly hunting them down and destroying their eggs before they hatch.

Do something about this Countryside and do it now in the next two years before we lose the biggest Muruk of all.

This Muruk knows everything that has gone wrong and is still happening today and needs to be stopped it before it kicks the bucket tomorrow. The country will then sweep the whole thing under the mat to be buried forever.

Hi 'Countryside' - That sounds like great news and I hope the 'house of cards' starts collapsing soon.

But therein lies the conundrum. The forces that created the rise of so many muruks in the first place must also be dealt with, otherwise the existing chicks and eggs in the nests will only hatch more broods.

Of equal importance are the other two legs of the chair of state's three-legged stability. These are an effective system to prevent new muruk eggs from hatching and, secondly, an available process to ensure any muruks still alive aren't able to grow and become another nuisance.

With the three legs, a stable chair can stand up in almost any conditions. With only one or two legs, it will always fall over.

The three essential elements of such a successful action must therefore be:

1. To hold those already in power responsible and accountable.

2. To ensure there is a legal and judicial system that can and will enforce the country's laws and Constitution.

3. To inform and educate the country's populace so that when the law is broken, people have the knowledge, power and opportunity to act appropriately.